Message development, social media strategies, and speaker/media training for individuals and groups, so you don't get caught unprepared, speechless or without a message. I'm Washington, DC-based communications consultant Denise Graveline. Want to pick my brain or get a sense of how I work? Do it here.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Some are hyper-local, some worldwide in scope. But for communicators looking to expand the ways in which they make experts available in public settings, here are three creative options to consider:

Dial 'em up:Local Hero, currently an iPhone app with an Android version on the way, "connects to your Facebook account to determine your skills and location, and uses it to connect you with friends and others on LocalHero looking for advice." Yes, that means legwork for you, making sure your Facebook account displays your expertise and participation in the Local Hero community. But for those with a robust presence on Facebook, this is a great way to build connections with an audience.

Check them out:The "human library" is a program of the new Surrey, British Columbia, public library in which you can check out an expert instead of a book to learn more about a topic. The experts are volunteering their services; library patrons will be able to request them and chat with them in the library cafe. This is an easy enough program to implement no matter your mission, and one that might involve your retirees, members, donors and more. And while it's low-tech and high-touch, I can see this option easily promoted on social networks. Think about being able to provide a subject expert, live, on a day when her specialty's in the news.

Got a novel way to put your experts forward? Share it in the comments.

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